First Drive Review
Until now, General Motors has put most of its SUV eggs in the traditional body-on-frame basket. But beginning late December, the General will sell full-size crossover SUVs in GMC dealerships. (The Saturn Outlook and Buick Enclave versions will follow shortly, with a Chevrolet likely to follow at a later date.) These are all based on the so-called Lambda architecture, which is available in front- or all-wheel drive and uses car-like unit-body construction. The first of them we got our hands on is the GMC Acadia, which goes on sale in front-drive SLE form for $29,990. The fully loaded all-wheel-drive Acadia SLT-2 that we drove had a sticker of $44,985. Depending on configuration, the Acadia seats seven or eight passengers, in three rows of seats.
Powertrain: There are no choices
The Acadia—as well as the Buick and Saturn versions—are available at launch with one powertrain: a 3.6-liter, dual-overhead cam, 24-valve V-6 engine that employs variable valve timing, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. The engine makes 275 horsepower at 6600 rpm and 251 pound feet of torque at 3200 rpm.
These are not petite utes
The Acadia is a large beast, with a 118.9-inch wheelbase and a 67.3-inch track. The vehicle has an independent suspension at all four corners, with struts, lower control arms and an anti-roll bar at the front, and an H-arm and coil spring rear layout. Power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering is standard on the SLE, with a variable-effort system on SLT models. Acadias are equipped with 18-inch wheels and tires, with 19-inch versions available at extra cost. Base Acadias have front-wheel drive: pony up around $2000 more, and there's an all-wheel-drive system that uses a clutch pack to apportion torque between the front and rear wheels, depending on vehicle speed, throttle position, and road conditions. Acadias can tow up to 4500 pounds if buyers specify the optional $425 trailering package.
Stability control comes standard
The Acadia has the full complement of airbags that now seem to be de rigueur: dual front airbags for the driver and passenger, seat side-mounted front-row airbags, and full-length curtain airbags for all three rows of passengers. Before you get yourself into a situation where the airbags come to the rescue, GMC places a lot of emphasis on the Acadia's dynamic safety features, such as handling that's more car-like than a traditional SUV's, its four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes, and the standard StabiliTrak stability-control system that incorporates rollover mitigation.
